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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28193754">Coming Now, From A Different Place</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterPlanetary_Redacted/pseuds/InterPlanetary_Redacted'>InterPlanetary_Redacted</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Faded Photographs [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Caring James T. Kirk, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Vacation, Father-Daughter Relationship, Healthy Relationships, Loving James T. Kirk, Loving Leonard "Bones" McCoy, M/M, POV Third Person, Sweet Leonard "Bones" McCoy, but switches perspectives again, does this count as an xmas fic?? i dont think so but christmas does feature, only a small amount though, w/ both of them and jo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:53:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,654</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28193754</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterPlanetary_Redacted/pseuds/InterPlanetary_Redacted</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They cook with 20th century music that Jim and Bones can agree on in the background, quietly singing along to the old wintertime songs. </p>
<p>Before meeting Bones, he had never really experienced a consistent Christmas experience and had been more than simply nervous (working himself to a panic attack in Chris’ flat the first time he was about to go and meet Bones for the shuttle) but he was an old pro at this now after four years, and was excited to be apart of traditions more and more when he came. </p>
<p>Mostly he did whatever Jo did since it seemed like the most fun. <br/>//<br/>Not actually a Christmas Fic but it is set in December/January and xmas and nye are both mentioned so!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aurelan Kirk/George Samuel Kirk, James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Faded Photographs [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882864</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Coming Now, From A Different Place</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It has been....3 months, but I am back with this fic and hope you enjoy it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When it came to agreeing to “go with” his….family, Jim hadn’t really thought much further past “it would be awkward if we ran into them while there and I don’t wanna spend the time avoiding them or having to unexpectedly meet them and act surprised” when he explained it to Bones. In his defence, they had already agreed to go, basically made all of the arrangements except for transport, and it would be easier if they all went together. Absolutely nothing to do with not wanting to bother with having to arrange anything when his sister-in-law had already done it with enough room for all three of them to join. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jim, do you even want to go?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s beyond the point now - we booked it before they did.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>booked it, I said it was too much.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re gonna be leaving for </span>
  <em>
    <span>space</span>
  </em>
  <span> and by the time we get back Jojo will be too old for it and I want her to experience it with us when she’s still young.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t happen, and that she’d actually be able to enjoy more when she’s older, but-” he held up a finger for Jim to not interrupt him when he began to open his mouth. “I appreciate it, and I know she will too - now and then.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want to experience something big with her - roller coasters are a big thing. And it’s not like you’ll ever be able to go with her actually on the rides.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay just because I can now go on shuttles and ships without the worry of throwing up, doesn’t mean I </span>
  <em>
    <span>enjoy</span>
  </em>
  <span> going up on or experiencing anything other than stable flight.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know honey,” Jim nodded, reaching over and kissing his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Currently they were cooking dinner, and it’s five days before Christmas, but they had just arrived this evening and Jim wanted to show off his cooking skills before they got too caught up in properly preparing for Christmas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bones was only monitoring him, giving “advice” where it was needed like Jim forgetting a spice (or vital ingredient, it’s not too important). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jo had exerted herself pretty quickly once they’d surprised her by arriving a day early so had to nap before they ate dinner, though not for long otherwise she’d struggle to sleep later. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’d yet to tell her about their surprised trip since it was partly as her Christmas gift, but everybody else was aware of it and had helped to make arrangements so that they could properly take her with them, as well as the fact that Eleanora had needed to reassure Jim that while Bones would protest the gift idea initially, he would agree soon enough. He had been too nervous to propose it at first. Still, she had been right. As usual with her son. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They cook with 20th century music that Jim and Bones can agree on in the background, quietly singing along to the old wintertime songs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before meeting Bones, he had never really experienced a consistent Christmas experience and had been more than simply nervous (working himself to a panic attack in Chris’ flat the first time he was about to go and meet Bones for the shuttle) but he was an old pro at this now after four years, and was excited to be apart of traditions more and more when he came. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mostly he did whatever Jo did since it seemed like the most fun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had yet to decorate the tree, something which had waited for Bones and Jim the past couple of years, and they’d complete it after dinner with Jo. Eleanora would watch but that was what she liked to do in recent years according to Bones, even before Jim came along. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Christmas dinner was fun this year as Chris and Phil had arrived on Christmas Eve to celebrate with them for a couple of days, leaving them with less leftovers than in previous years but it wasn’t an issue for any of them - the memories more than made up for it even if it had been a problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Joanna was more than giddy for her trip, too, something that filled Jim with more happiness than he’d expected. He’d explained that they’d be staying in the same hotel as his family and they’d have to do a few activities with them, but they’d have time for themselves too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hopefully it wouldn’t be too taxing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It helps that Joanna is old enough to actually go on roller coasters and not just </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, there was a lot which had to be considered when it came to the way they were getting there. He absolutely did want Joanna to meet Peter and Alexander who, despite being too young to do much at their destination, were excited to be going. Otherwise, he wasn’t overly enthused for Jo to be meeting his mother and brother, despite the fact they’re currently somewhat involved in a truce. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There wasn’t much to explain with regards to Jo interacting with his family because he knew that she would follow their lead and be responsible about responding to personal questions about their lives - as much as she knew at least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim wasn’t about to restrict her interactions with his mother and brother if she wanted to talk to them, but somehow he doubted that his mother would be welcoming enough towards her that she voluntarily babbled towards the woman about how her recent school term has been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still, he made sure she knew that she didn’t have to interact with them if she didn’t want to, but he thought she would like Peter and Alexander - if only for the fact that they were younger than her and would be interested in learning about her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Other than that, she was incredibly excited for the opportunity to experience her most anticipated visit. Jim had gone overboard in ensuring that they had cameras with apt amount of memory for them, especially Jo, to be able to take as many pictures as desired. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Jim was happy to receive a hug from Aurelan when they arrived at the port. “I’m so happy you agreed to travel with us!” she told him, and Jim couldn’t help the smile, regardless of the fact that his hands were becoming clammy the closer to departure they got. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity now, could I?” he tried to joke. “We were already planning to go so why not see family in the meantime.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Still, I’m glad you were able to take the opportunity. Come on, the boys went ahead with your mother to start getting settled after getting drinks. Do you guys want anything in particular? We already have plenty of water on board, plus some plain and salted crackers,” she explained, making sure to include Bones and Jo in the question, but both of them shook their heads. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be fine with that until we get there, I think,” Bones answers, glancing at Jo momentarily while she nods in agreement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfect! We’ve still got about five minutes until we board officially, but we can go over now if you’d like?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim glanced at the pair, who shrugged, and agreed to make their way over so they could load their baggage at the very least. He was still impressed by Bones because, as much as he loves him, the man would have been a wreck three years ago if they were doing this. But it was a sign of improvement (and habit) that he was just clenching and unclenching his fists in anxiety - something he hadn’t had the chance to do when smuggling Jim on the enterprise due to being too busy looking after Jim to get anxious in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently Winona, despite being the pilot for their journey, felt it a good opportunity to ask (interrogate) Bones about his old fears about flight before they even began to get settled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leonard, I read in your files that you had to take an excess of piloting classes, as well as hosted the first seminar for those afraid of flying in your second year. Are you sure you’re suited to be on such a prominent ship - or any at all - within the fleet?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite knowing the seminar was public and you only needed to ask the right people to find out how often Bones was in class or took the exam, Jim said, “You don’t have access to those files,”  instead of allowing Bones to reply, both of them clenching their jaws in tandem while Jo scrunched her eyebrows, frowning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She ignored the question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim continued, “You also have no right to decide who goes where. He’s the best doctor in the fleet, of course he’s going to be on the flagship. And it has nothing to do with favouritism, either. If I were on another ship he would still be on the flagship. It’s how I got there after all.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She made a humming noise. “Of course, that doesn’t stop him from being unsuited for flight at all.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim couldn’t help the clench of his hands, but Aurelan cut in before he could say anything, frown covering her pretty face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Winona, I don’t know what you’re trying to discover, but Jim is right - you have no right to be discussing this after looking in his files, which I’m sure is against the rules.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another humming noise from Winona, and thankfully the boys were out of earshot, before she walked to the cockpit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim turned to Bones to whisper, “I’m going to kill her before the flight is up I swear to fuck,”  before turning to follow her through the back to greet the younger boys, picking up Peter when he requested. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Aurelan smiled tightly at Len. “It’s nice to meet you officially, hopefully this trip won’t be a complete disaster,” she comments, before turning to kneel at Joanna’s level. “Hello, my name is Auelan. I’m Jim’s sister-in-law, you must be Joanna who he talks so often about.” She holds a hand out for Joanna to shake, which she takes shyly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He talks about me?” she asks with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Constantly</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aurelan tells her, letting go of her hand. “Any time I mention anything about my boys, he mentions the same thing you did. He’s very proud of you.” There’s a quiet beeping sound momentarily. “Come on, let’s get in there since we’re two minutes from departure,” she tells them, straightening up and leading the way inside the shuttle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim had momentarily brought Alexander from the safety of his seat to bounce him around in his arms, smiling at him and Peter who was standing on one of the seats to be closer to Jim, telling him a story of some kind while Jim listened carefully and responded, just like he did with Joanna. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim glanced at them and shifted Alexander to one arm while reaching for Peter, holding him securely to put on the floor of the craft. “Time to get strapped in boys,” he tells them, despite Peter being the only one to properly understand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Peter asks for Jim to strap him in as he sits on his seat when Aurelan comes over to attempt as such, Jim strapping Alexander securely in first to his adjusted seat with his carrier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks Uncle Jim!” Peter grinned, causing Jim to grin back once he was sure Peter was in securely as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome,” Jim told him, before going to sit behind Len and Joanna, Aurelan beside Alexander and George beside Peter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everybody was strapped in securely, including Jim despite his lack of “need” since he (and Len and Winona, technically) have the training to be able to remain secure without the straps when they still had a minute left before they were set to leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out of sheer desire to prove her wrong, Len didn’t want to show his usual ticks of anxiety which most of the Academy probably knew about if they’d been on a shuttle with him or were friends with those who had. It wasn’t something that he usually was self-conscious about, was usually quite proud of it actually despite his profession, but there was something about the way that Winona phrased her comments that got to him. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Jim could see something in Bones’ demeanor which stopped him from reaching out when he shook his head at him slightly, causing Jim to want to roll his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m actually very impressed that you got the straps on first try, Jim,” Aurelan commented from beside him on the other side of the aisle, having checked them herself to ensure they were adjusted correctly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim couldn’t help but shrug. “Aurelan, I’ve worked with so many mechanical things that looking at a set of straps which have to be secure as to not injure the baby and not too tight as to also not injure the baby, isn’t too difficult. It’s almost like securing an important chemical which requires a time release for the pressure so it doesn’t go off too early when we’re unprepared.” Likely not the best analogy, and he could see Bones raise his head to the ceiling and take a deep breath at his response. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Babies are not chemical bombs, Jim,” he hissed quietly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aurelan blinked, tilting her head, scrunching her eyebrows, and curling her lips inwards as if holding back a response.  She nods twice, slowly, before Winona calls back to ensure they’re all strapped in securely and about to take off. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>It was going to be a four hour flight, so they had apparently made sure to get a shuttle with enough space to have an area that a play mat had been stuck to the floor for the kids to play on and the adults could stretch their legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim was happy to see that when Joanna started to read on the mat, cross legged and leaning against the wall with a pillow on her lap, Peter was quick to unstrap himself and go over, asking her to read to him, which she began to do before he’d even settled down on his front facing her. Jim plucked Alexander from his seat and settled next to Bones, who was happy to watch Jim play with his baby nephew, trying to be as casual as possible while talking to Aurelan, although was admittedly calmer for the flight with Jim next to him now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>George kept to himself, only answering when Aurelan asked him something, mostly just staying on a padd and making notes every so often. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Both Jim and Jo began to vibrate in excitement as the shuttle started it’s descent, and were the first to unstrap themselves one they landed so they could see where they were despite having watched the entrance to the port - it wasn’t directly beside their final destination, so Len didn’t hesitate to roll his eyes when both slumped in disappointment at seeing other people waiting for their own shuttles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Both of you, come here.” They turned to him, then looked at each other, then him, trying their best to exude innocence. “Don’t think you’re getting out of carrying your bag little miss,” he tells Joanna when she tugs on Jim’s arm. She sighs dramatically, a habit clearly taken from Jim, and stomps towards him, turning around when he motions for her to so he can strap her bag to her back, and then presenting the handle of her suitcase to her once pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You too Jim,” he says, and Jim follows Joanna’s example in an even more exaggerated manner, causing Joanna to giggle, and Len smirks at his partner. He and Jim have separate bags in their suitcases for them to carry day-to-day things but he passes Jim the handle of his suitcase and presses a kiss to his lips quickly before turning him around and ordering them to march forward. Aurelan was leading the other half of the family alongside them so they could get through the procedures and get their cars for the next ten days. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They have two cars so they’re not too cramped, nor do they need to arrange who gets it when they have different plans for the day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Len still can’t tell who’s more excited: Jim or Joanna, but Jim has to calm down slightly while driving so he doesn’t inadvertently cause an accident of some kind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their suite was a decent size, but not too big since they weren’t planning to spend much time here in the day and it wouldn’t need to be large for the evening. Joanna’s room had a bunk bed just by coincidence of the room, and she immediately went for the top bunk since she never gets to stay in one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t create a mess,” Len tells her before she can start to do just that. “It will create more issues when packing to leave.” He pauses for a moment, hearing the opening of another case. “Jim I know you can hear me and that goes for you too,” he warns. Joanna just grins at him, climbing down from the top bunk to open her case and put her things into the drawers. Len drops another kiss on her head before walking to do the same with his own things, unsurprised to see there are a few items on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m putting them in the drawers,” Jim defends when Len raises an eyebrow, so he just rolls his eyes and does the same thing for his own stuff. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because of the fact they’d made their hotel arrangements before even being contacted by Aurelan, who had made arrangements in a different hotel, they were about fifteen minutes from one another, something that Len was happier about after a flight filled with three too many awkward silences between the adults. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were planning to meet for brunch tomorrow morning, but for this evening they had it to themselves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ve made arrangements for dinner this evening,” Jim announces once getting away from his padd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? Good idea.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Made sure that it’s kid friendly too, but most of the stuff around here is because of the fact it’s a holiday resort for families. Jojo will be able to play while we’re there but I’ll tell her to bring something to do in case she doesn’t want to. Plus, we shouldn’t run into the other while we’re there.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That made Len pause, turning to his partner slowly as he closed the final drawer of his things. “Jim...did you hack into their schedules?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only Winona’s!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make it any better!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, she shouldn’t have hacked into yours! Besides, I wanted to be sure that we wouldn’t run into them and they have a reservation twenty minutes in the opposite direction of our own place of eatery-ing, for five people at that, so it definitely isn’t just Winona.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, fine, but...don’t do that again. We agreed to spend some time with your family-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going for brunch tomorrow!” Jim told him triumphantly as if Len wasn’t already aware.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t purposefully keep avoiding them. We already have days filled with activities for Jojo and I know some of them include your family. We can’t avoid going for dinner with them on those days.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knoooooow,” Jim whines, flopping backwards onto their bed for the time away. “But it doesn’t mean that I have to see them tonight when we already arranged to go with them tomorrow morning.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. I’m sure Aurelan and George would appreciate us looking after the boys for an evening so they and Winona can go their separate ways.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably. I do love those two.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Clearly as much as you love Jojo,” he comments, remembering what Aurelan said upon greeting Joanna. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re a close second, but Jojo comes first.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, thank you.” Len leaned down to press a kiss to Jim’s forehead. “I’m going to shower to get the weird shuttle feeling off of me, you go do the same with Jo.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okie dokie,” Jim agreed, heaving himself up with a kiss to Len’s cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Len moved to their ensuite with the decision to be done quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Evidently, not as quick as Jim and Jo, though, since he could hear them giggling as he walked towards her room, standing at the door to watch Jim mess around while styling her hair, telling her what he was going to do, that he’d give her a mohawk while she wasn’t looking if he wasn’t careful, despite the fact that her hair is already dry and he was simply braiding it back to keep it out of her face while they went to dinner. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shoved some hair clips she received for Christmas into Jim’s hand at his request so he could put them in for her, clear resin ones with silver leaf as decoration that she had quickly declared her favourites from the small collection she received. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Len had been surprised by how well Jim could do hair, but didn’t bring it up again after the way his face dropped because he learnt while with his kids when he was younger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim liked making happier memories with Joanna as his model on a daily basis - if she was going to allow him the honour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a short walk to the restaurant, once they got going shortly after Jim finished with his own shower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Joanna kept trying to skip ahead until Jim held her hand to stop her as it was apparently a busy time in the evening for this area and they didn’t want to lose her, but she enjoyed skipping while holding both of their hands just as much apparently, something Len was grateful for. He didn’t like thinking about the fact that by the time they returned she would likely be too old to enjoy such a simple action, but it was true, so he would take pleasure in it until she considered the action uncool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Joanna stuck by them when they were at the table in the restaurant, choosing to colour instead until their food arrived, apparently too tired from the travel, ready to sleep early this evening (and Len didn’t want to think about what it would mean for how early she would wake up tomorrow morning). </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Jim doesn’t know why he agreed to the brunch other than the fact that he felt like the owed Aurelan for the ability to travel there and back with them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite the fact that conversations did start, there was an understanding that it was just for the benefit of the kids, and nobody was really discussing anything out of real interest unless it was through/towards Aurelan. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He suspected that a large amount of the time spent with his family would be like this  as a result. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently Winona had plans to visit areas which were more age appropriate than go with them to the amusement parks and child-oriented activities, which didn’t surprise Jim in the slightest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aurelan and Jim were the ones to go on the activities with the kids as they were going around, as well as bonding over their love of things that went fast and high and moved erratically, Bones refusing to go near the queue for them and George not overly bothered either way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Overall it was a fun day for them to go through as much as they could before dinner, getting some of the greasiest food that Bones frowned at for lunch, but Bones ate it regardless, rolling his eyes at Jim’s own enthusiasm. After making sure that he wasn’t allergic to anything. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Most of the trip followed in the same mood, although they didn’t get together every day which was a relief for Jim’s patience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(There had been some...comments, no matter how much Aureland tried to stop them.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mostly Jim was happy he could spend the majority of his time with Bones and Jojo, who was having way more fun than him, and got along with Peter in the way that older kids get along with younger kids despite their vastly different interests. And she thought Alexander was cute but that wasn’t something that Jim was about to disagree with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was the day before New Years Eve, and Jim had to stay in the hotel room while Bones took Jo to an outside playpark or- whatever it was that they found, because the night before there had been something in the food which Jim had been allergic to that they hadn’t initially realised until Jim’s throat closed up. They still aren’t sure if it was due to unknown cross contamination or an ingredient in the food they hadn’t considered him to be allergic to before because he was trying it for the first time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All three of them are used to his allergic reactions springing up out of nowhere, however Aurelan had been...less than thrilled, almost working herself up with her panic about not knowing what to do despite the fact that they had it under control and down to routine. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How are you so calm?” She was whispering to them, as to not draw the attention of the rest of the restaurant since they were seemingly unaware of what happened. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Jim had shrugged. “I have at least one allergic reaction a month when in places where I don’t have full control over my food or there is an unknown allergen that both could be or could not be food.” His voice was rough but it wasn’t something he was unused to.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll need to make sure to ask for the full ingredients list when we next see the server,” Bones told him. “And for any possible cross-contamination that we’d be unaware of or that could be accidental or not thought of.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know Bonesy, don’t worry.” He knew he wouldn’t be able to talk for much longer without it being an issue, but he knew that Bones had a med kit back in the room, even if he likely had to miss out on fun activities tomorrow. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For today he was on a liquid diet while the meds he was taking worked to soothe and heal his throat in time for tomorrow, expecting Bones to be back soon with something that met his standards, even if he hadn’t liked the idea of staying in the suite, but he didn’t want to keep the other two in the room with him when they could be having fun. He knew what to look out for as a possible delayed reaction - something which rarely happened, but had happened enough that Bones didn’t want him doing anything today. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Trashy tv was good to watch once in a while anyway, and all that he could find </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> trashy and overall just bad. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> When the door opened, he wasn’t quite prepared to be jumped on by a small child, but he couldn’t say he really minded it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello there Jojo,” he grinned at her, squeezing her tightly as she squirmed in his arms, her giggles making it difficult to keep a grip of something in her hand. “And what have we got here?” He holds her wrist higher. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We found a carnival!” she tells him excitedly. “I won a game! But daddy said you might like it more.” She holds it up for him, twisting to face him. Jim turns to look at Bones, who had moved to stand against the back of the couch, leaning his hip against it with his arms folded against his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s see if daddy is correct, hm?” he asks, taking it from her. It’s a small, grey capsule, and Jim had no idea what she could have won that would have fit inside of it, never mind something that he would prefer more than her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It makes a click sound as it opens, and there, nestled in a small bunch of white tissue paper, is a golden ring. He can’t stop his mouth dropping open slightly before he smiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You won this, Jojo?” he asks jokingly, and she giggles, shaking her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No Jim, I won a little figurine of Éanna! And a super rare one too!” she gushed happily. “Daddy says this is for you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does daddy say that?” Jim grins at Bones. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm,” both of them answer, Bones crouching so he could be level with Jim, continuing to speak. “Because it would make me very happy if we were to get married.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d be very happy with that too,” Jim smiles, before stopping a moment. “But won’t Starfleet have issues?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bones shrugs. “Even if they do, they can’t do anything about it. I’m the CMO and I’ve been your doctor this entire time. All it would really do, officially, is allow me to have spousal rights when I’m not the one in charge of your medical care for whatever reason, or just in general where spouses are the only ones allowed access to files and whatnot. Nothing else would change. Plus I already spoke to Chris and Phil and they say they don’t see an issue with it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you ask them </span>
  <em>
    <span>permission</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Jim asked, before he could stop himself since it wasn’t the first thing he was going to ask. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a  good southern boy, my mama would kill me if I didn’t, and I knew they were the ones’ whose opinion mattered to you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty sure she wouldn’t kill you,” Jim rolled his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe, guess we’ll never find out since I did ask them and they gave their blessing, and well wishes since you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>even more</span>
  </em>
  <span> my problem than theirs,” he grins, Jim grinning back just as easily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as that’s all the bases covered,” Jim says, before holding the capsule out to him. “You can put it on me then, can’t you?” Bones sighs in exasperation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Am I already regretting my decision?” he asks himself, taking the capsule and removing the ring, taking Jim’s left hand to slide the ring onto this third finger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, yes you are regretting it already,” Jim confirmed enthusiastically, reaching back so he could put his arms around Bones’ neck and pull him down to kiss his lips, keeping it chaste since Joanna was still an audience member. “I love you,” he whispers, barely a hair between their lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you too,” he responded, before standing up, groaning as his knees cracked loudly, which caused Jim to clearly hold back a laugh while he walked around to sit beside Jim and Jo, pulling them closer to himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we absolutely adore you to the end of the universe and back,” Jim told Joanna, moving her to be between them more snugly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” Bones agreed. “We’ll always put you first,” he promises, but she hadn’t stopped smiling since she arrived and didn’t seem to have a doubt about that. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>New Years Eve was spent entirely together, with Jo taking a nap in the early evening since she wanted to be awake for the light show since it was reportedly amazing - the main reason Jim had chosen to come for New Years, since they wouldn’t be able to come back with Jo for several years. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>New Years Day was spent with the other half of the family,, Aurelan surprised that Bones had proposed but happy for them all the same, with George congratulating them and Winona making a half hearted attempt to follow her elder son’s example. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They only really had another day left afterwards and the next they would be travelling back in the afternoon to arrive at a time suitable for Joanna to sleep at once they returned home fully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was spent at a more sedate pace, going through general sites rather than activities since Joanna had apparently completed everything that she set out to do when she found out they were coming here. (With a notebook that neither he nor Bones had noticed she’d had with her.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jim was relieved when they were off the shuttle, once again on Earth, ready to sleep for twelve hours once he himself got into bed, thankful that they had arranged for a transport beam to Georgia so Eleanor could pick them up and take them straight to the house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was polite in saying goodbye to his brother and mother, but knew he would need a few days to recover from the stress he feels impacting him now, making him even more tired than he expects he would usually be at this point of a break. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was surprised when he stayed awake the entire journey to the house, listening to Jojo tiredly gush to her grandmother about their trip, even though she was largely slurring her words and yawning before they were home, but held out until they were unloading the car, allowing her dad to carry her inside while Jim started on the luggage, Eleanor taking Jo’s for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, he proposed then?” she asks. He doesn’t know if it was her observational skills, Joanna discussing it, or the fact Bones told her about it before they left, but Jim nodded, momentarily yawning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was sweet,” is all he can say, because he feels like he might drop dead if he doesn’t crawl into bed first.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure you can tell me about it tomorrow. Leave the luggage here,” she tells him, before shooing him upstairs to where Bones is brushing his teeth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s out cold.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I will be too in a minute,” Jim says, getting the toothbrush he left here and putting toothpaste on it to get started on his own night routine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probably not the best job he could have done , but at least he knew his mouth wasn’t feeling fuzzy anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It may not have been the first night he was doing it, but with his tired brain all he could think about was how he was sleeping beside his </span>
  <em>
    <span>fiancé</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and wasn’t that a wonderful thought? </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi, I hope you enjoyed this fic! Please comment/kudos if you did because I really love reading you guys' comments! They're always so sweet! </p>
<p>Anyway! A couple of things: </p>
<p>Firstly, I'm pretty sure that this is, narratively, the last story I'm going to write for this series - it might change in the future if I think of an idea I want to work on with regards to the sequel movies, but for now I'm marking the series as complete and this will be the final piece. </p>
<p>That said! It technically is not over! I started writing this and then when I got to the proposal scene I was like "does this seem to come out of the blue for Jim??? After everything I've spoken about in the series before, does this seem like even more ooc Bones for my already ooc Bones?" and I decided "probably" so I'll probably write a short fic within the next few days from entirely Bones' pov and his thoughts surrounding Jim and marriage so yay??? This will be inserted as a piece before this fic even though some of it will be in the same timeline, so basically a companion fic to everything. </p>
<p>Other than that: I chose the name Alexander because there were about 8 names to choose from for the next Kirk kids by Aurelan and that was my favourite aside from Virgil bc these writers have not been consistent with the two youngest's names. </p>
<p>Like I said, I hope you enjoyed this fic and as usual you can find me on tumblr at interplantary-redacted and freya_ziabeth on ig</p></blockquote></div></div>
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